Cross Country!

CC and Little Man both decided to run cross-country for the school team this year. It's a club sport, so there are no tryouts, and it's a welcoming introduction to school athletics. The coach is a friend of mine with a very positive attitude, and I love the way she layers self-esteem and nutrition lessons on top of the running program.

This past weekend was their first meet. Little Man was raring to go, but CC did not have a great attitude about it. Fortunately, once we arrived at the course and she was surrounded by her friends, her outlook improved.

The boys ran first, and Little Man held his own. He was especially proud of the final stretch, where he used his last reserves of energy to pass quite a few other runners.

To our amusement, CC did a combination of running and walking. Afterwards she explained, "I walked up and down the big hill for safety." MJ and I laughed and told her that everyone else managed to run up and down the hill. But CC insisted, "I saw a lot of people almost fall!" So there you have it: safety first.

They both finished around the middle of their respective packs. But the most important thing was that they agreed it was more fun than they thought, and wasn't as hard as they feared. Great lessons!